The Time to Fight
by Phoenix Oblivion
Summary: One ShadowClan tom witnesses the ThunderCan deputy murder his mate right in front of his eyes. The two clans went to war over the border dispute... but was this tragic event really just? Oneshot.


**Author's Note: This is a story about death.**

* * *

There was a time when the clans almost destroyed each other.

Every single warrior in ShadowClan was fighting on my behalf: I couldn't, _wouldn't, _hunt and fight for the clan in my grief_._ Not only that, all of Fallenstar's decisions were affecting massively by Lightheart's death. He wanted revenge for the death of his daughter... and yet I _didn't _want revenge for the death of my mate. Strange, isn't it? I suppose that I had convinced myself that ThunderClan had just been defending their territory; that the whole business had just been a terrible accident.

But of course, it wasn't. It was murder.

I suppose that it all began on the first day of Newleaf, when the sun shone down through the shadowy branches of our territory, and when it seemed that nothing could go wrong. Those hours before the incident were the calm before the storm.

* * *

_My clan had never looked so prosperous. There was no threat of death or starvation in the air. There was only happiness. The cats of ShadowClan basked in the relief of the long awaited sun; some cats just simply shared tongues with their mates. But for me, the sun was shadowed. My life, for the past few_ _seasons in fact, had been haunted by the mysterious absences of my mate, Lightheart. She would disappear for hours on end, sometimes returning with the smell of ferns and even fox-dung on her pelt. It was like she was taunting me! Whenever I thought that I was nearing an answer to her actions, it would just slip away from my paws! I loved her, but- at the moment I hated her. __  
_

_So I was determined not to let this opportunity fly by. Lightheart had just __left the camp, and, without any of the clan noticing I slipped into step behind her. The forest seemed to turn darker by the second, but I wouldn't let anything get in my way! I would have an answer!_

_Suddenly, Lightheart stopped, right next to the border with ThunderClan. I could feel my heart thumping in my throat. And then, I saw something that I would never forget._

* * *

The rest of the story is really quite simple. You see, a ThunderClan tom appeared from the undergrowth! I told ShadowClan that he had murdered my mate right there and then. My heart had broken in half. But I took his life in return as revenge. Of course, this was an outrage! The clan that we had once been at peace with had openly murdered one of clan mates! This meant war. We took the argument to the next gathering, where Fallenstar arched his back and hissed curses and insults towards the leader of ThunderClan. _They_ were equally angered by how I had killed their deputy, and so, we fought. Whenever we met we would fight, whether it were on a border patrol or even simply hunting alone, every encounter was a threat. And it wasn't long before the other clans joined. It was a question of life or death for them to. You see, in one confrontation, ThunderClan had been chased into Sunningrocks, which was RiverClan's ground at the time. They begged RiverClan to shelter them, and when the clan of water did so, we were equally angry with them; it was WindClan who made the clenching decision, however. Either they joined Shadowclan and the fighting would go on, or they joined the ThunderClan assault. You can imagine the choice they made. ShadowClan had to back down, and so, ThunderClan were victorious.

StarClan were not angry with the clans for fighting. That was what made me feel more agony than any wound could ever inflict. StarClan sees all. They saw the truth. They saw the fact that I had lied to my clan. They knew that _I, _ was the cause of all the death. ShadowClan believed that I had killed the ThunderClan in response to the death of my mate.

No.

What really happened sent me to the Dark Forest. I sealed my fate in just one moment of madness.

_The ThunderClan deputy emerged from the undergrowth, and Lightheart let out a jowl of joy. She ran over and wrapped her body around his. Their muzzles touched... and it was all too much for me to bare! I HATED HER! HOW DARE SHE PRETEND TO LOVE ME WHILE MEETING WITH THIS CAT! My rage took over, I leapt out of my hiding place and killed them both. They didn't even fight back. _

_That's what really happened._

_I loved Lightheart._

_But I hated her as well. And in the end, I not only killed the two lovers._

_I murdered half of the rest of the clans as well._

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__**Wow! That was bit dark even for me! Hope you enjoyed it though. Please RR.**


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